I just got back from my first treatment for my chest, abs and back.
I had the option of using either a gentleYAG or a gentleLASE alex laser and the nurse giving me my treatment said we would use the gentleLASE, and I have heard this is a good machine. I, however, have done my research and I tried to talk her into using the gentleYAG since I have type 3 skin. Instead she opted for the gentleLASE at what seemed to me like low settings. she used 12joules at an 18mm spot size. I found that on areas where the hair was not so coarse that it was almost painless, but around coarse areas or shallow areas close to bone the pain was rather severe even at these low levels.
What can I expect from these settings on a type III skin with very very dark and coarse hair? Are these low levels going to produce 0 results?
I am going to be very dissapointed if I dont see anything at all after even this first treatment, as from what I understand I should see shedding in a couple of weeks and be hair free for a few weeks before my hair returns and I return for a visit in 10 weeks. (I am doing 10 week intervals as this will catch more active follicles)
I am young and in my prime and my body hair has affected my life tremendously. I am hoping that this works.
Hey bud. Ive had my chest and abs done with a gentelase. You will see the hairs coming through finer after one treatment, but as you have really dark hair, you will also have the ‘pepperspot’ look. So use a shower loather scrub thingy, to help with those.
Ive had 4 treatment on chest and abs. Its been over a month since my last treatment, and i probably wont have anymore.
Results? My lower stomach under belly button ahs hardly any regrowth at all. The rest of the chest has alot finer sparser regrowth - which is good. Problem is that some parts are patchy as hell, and it really doesn’t look natural. So bare that in mind.
Im gonna get some touch up done on those parts, but im not convinced its ever gonna look ‘natural’.
Thanks for the response man. Seems like im probably looking for the results that you have. Im trying to get most, if not all, of the hair off of my stomach/ab area, leaving the happy trail alone. But for the chest I just want a thinning out, as I like looking like a man, just not like a man from the stone age.
GentleLASE is the correct machine to use on you. So the tech is right. 12 joules on 18mm is a bit on the low side. I supposed she wanted to make sure your skin can handle it fine. I would have her test spots at 16j on 18mm and once she sees that you’re fine with those settings, those will be best.
You should still see shedding after this treatment and should get some results. 14 joules would normally be the minimum I would use on myself, and I’m a type II-III, to get the most hair.
Let us know how shedding goes. Also, I would prefer to start with just one of the areas you’re treating and see how it goes before committing to all those areas at once, but it’s up to you.
You should wait until enough hair is back to go in for your next treatment. It may be longer than 10 weeks. You just need to wait and see.
In terms of patchiness, I would try to make sure they overlap by 10% when treating to avoid it.
I was watching her very closely as she did the treatments, and she used a white pencil to make smaller grids over my body so she could do each small grid section at a time. I payed close attention to what she did and I saw that she was overlapping very well. I even brought up her method of getting everything and she brought up the fact that overlapping is key in that sense. I will let you know how shedding goes. Right after the treatment (only a few hours) my skin isnt irritated but the follicles are deffinately raised and a little red. A few hairs that werent burned off I tugged on a little (right near my nipple) and it actually just slid right out of the follicle root and all. Im guessing this is a good sign?
my hairs are starting to poke thru the skin now, and they seem very stiff. I also tried to shave a little bit last night to see how it went. It wasnt a problem besides the fact that It looked as if I didnt even try to shave. could this be because of the raised follicles around the hairs therefore making a close shave impossible? just wondering.
but yeah I am already noticing (so i think) that some hairs are already starting to give. I pulled on one earlier and it came out easily.
is it normal for the hairs to first resurface and feel very “hard” i guess?
You need to be patient. I wouldn’t shave yet. Hairs fall out easier when they are longer and have something to tug on. It’s normal for the hairs to feel stiff. Please give it at least 2 weeks without touching it much
Nope. I am in the US. I am getting treated at Ideal Image which is a chain of laser hair removal centers. At first since it was a chain I opted not to go there, but I got a recomendation from a plastic surgeon in my area to go there as he had heard and seen very good results there. Then as I went for a consultation I learned that they had the GentleLASE Alex laser which I hear is the best, so I chose them. They seem very knowledgeable about what they are doing.
One more question. Once the shedding completes, about how long should I be hair free? I am really anxious to be hair free for at least a period of a few weeks, as right now as the hair is growing back it is very uncomfortable and feels much rougher than if I had only shaved it and not had a laser treatment, which I hear is a good sign. But I am in college and it would be nice to have a period of hairlessness to mingle with some lady friends.
please read the FAQs. the entire process is explained there, including this specific question.
Ideal Image has good machines. Some of their locations used to use settings that were too low before, but I heard they generally improved. You should make sure that they’re using effective settings though. Also, I hope all the hair you’re treating is coarse, especially on your back which is already harder to treat.
as stated already, the settings were 12 joules on an 18mm spot size on a GentleLASE machine. I know these settings are a bit low but the technician suggested it since I have been in the sun some earlier in the summer and I am already a type 3 skin as it is, so as of right now im somewhere between type 3 and 4 due to this. It was a precautionary measure and ill be sure to step it up to 16 joules or maybe 18 next time if I can tolerate it, as even the 12 J was painful at times.
And yes, my hair is very coarse. My chest and abs are very coarse and very very dark. The hair on my back is less dense and not quite as coarse, but still fairly coarse and dark.
and yes lagirl I have read the FAQs and ive noticed that you are very prominent on pointing the FAQs out across these boards. But it doesnt answer my question completely. I understand there is a hair free period, but with my low settings will I experience it? And as in “hair-free” is it like a shaved hair free where you can still see the hair but it just feels smooth, or is it more like a wax?
One more thing. Is it possible for the treatment to be innefective and the hairs be just breaking off and not with the root? I looked at my chest last night before bed and this morning when I woke up and it seems to me that some of the hairs that were sticking out arent anymore, but are rather just broken at the surface?
With effective treatments, your hair either falls out (sheds) or is stuck in hair follicles (dead hairs called pepperspots). Please run a search on this forum for “pepperspots”. They just take longer to fall out. As long as the hair is not growing as usual after 3-4 weeks, you are good. The new phase of hair shouldn’t come in until week 7-8 or so.
p.s. please understand that I’m not paid to answer questions here and every single question has been answered here before. if you run a search, you will usually find the answer. I also wrote the FAQs to help people find the answers themselves so that I don’t have to type the same thing daily, which is basically what I’ve been doing for a few years. It’s a bit exhausting Try to understand please.
Its been about a week since my treatment and my hairs are deffinately coming out. Even a slight tug on a hair now brings the hair out very easily. This is a good sign correct?
ok a little update. Its been over just over 3 weeks now and I still have a lot of hairs that havent fallen out yet. I think I messed up by shaving and it cause the hairs to have more of a problem with falling out. I have noticed that shaving after a LHR treatment is different than shaving normal hair because it grows back slower. I shaved about a week ago and now the dead hairs seem to be just resurfacing and are now having trouble falling out due to their short length. Also, I have found hairs that are still strongly in place. Are these just missed spots?
if they’re not growing at normal speed, they’re probably dead. try exfoliating and scrubbing gently with a loofa. some will remain as pepperspots until your next treatment when they will be burned off.
